Throughout the home, a need exists to store a large variety of different items. This is particularly true of garage and utility areas where a vast array of products have been developed to increase the comfort level of living. The accumulation of these various objects and products gives rise to a need for adequate storage of those items when not in use.
Industry and business are other areas where a need exists to store a large variety of items. Numerous types of businesses and warehouses utilize and/or manufacture products which require storage. These products are often placed in bins or containers of various types and stacked on pallets or within larger containers for movement or shipment. The containers are often nestable when empty for a compact storage configuration, and stackable when filled via some type of covering for the top portion of the container.
For example, in the past it is known to nest empty containers by shaping them so that some portion of the bottom of one container is captured by the top of another identical container, or visa versa. One common form is where the containers are tapered so that the Lower portion of the container is smaller than the upper portion. This configuration allows the bottom portion of one container to be captured by the top of another identical container. This construction works well for forming stacks of empty containers. U.S. Pat. No. 6,708,824 discloses a vertically nestable tub-like container which utilizes this type of construction.
While this construction minimizes the space required to store empty containers, without any type of covering for the top of the container or wheeled dolly, the containers are often difficult to stack and/or move once filled.
Alternatively containers filled or unfilled, may be stacked on wheeled pallets or dollies for easier transport. The pallets or dollies are often constructed to be nested or stacked when empty to reduce storage space requirements. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,257,152 discloses a stackable pallet structure with wheels. Each pallet has a stop barrier on three sides, the remaining one side has a beveled surface tilting downward. Two longitudinal grooves are provided on the two mutual opposite longitudinal sides of the pallet. A plurality of insertion holes are provided between the grooves. The pallet includes a fixed wheel set and a movable wheel set, and has on the bottom thereof a plurality of engaging portions and engaging strips. When the pallets are stacked in a mutual orthogonal state, the engaging strips and engaging portions on the bottom of the upper pallet are respectively engaged in the insertion holes and longitudinal grooves on the lower pallet, so that the pallet structure has the function of direction correcting for positioning when in stacking of the pallets.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,396 discloses a nestable dolly construction particularly suited for plant containers. The dollies include a platform having opposing upper and lower surfaces. The lower surface includes a plurality of castor wheel assemblies secured thereto and the upper surface includes a plurality of wheel wells for receiving a castor assembly of another nested dolly.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,376,046 discloses containers which include tapered side and end walls so they are nestable within each other for storage. Lids for the containers have depressed top portions forming pockets for receiving the bottom of a stacked container. The lids include wheels secured to their bottom surface, whereby the lid may be used on the bottom of a stack as a dolly. Alternatively, the lid may be used to cover the top of the container wherein the wheels are hidden within the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,785,328 discloses a stacking member for stacking one hamper cart on another hamper cart. The device is generally a lid which fits over the top of the cart. The lower surface of the plate includes depending perimeter walls for alignment with the top of the cart. The upper surface of the plate includes a pair of parallel rectangular members for chocking the wheels of a stacked cart to prevent movement thereof.
In general, the dolly constructions are cumbersome to use, requiring the container to be aligned with the dolly prior to filling, or the filled container must be lifted and fit into the dolly. Stacking of the dollies is also cumbersome often requiring precise alignment that may include alignment of the castors.
It is also known in the prior art to construct stackable containers which include wheels for moving the filled containers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,186,330 discloses an infectious waste container. The device includes a container having a plurality of castors mounted its bottom surface and a lid which is sealable to the container body. The container includes a target region projecting inwardly from the container floor and an alignment region extending outwardly from the container's lid. Upon vertically adjacent positioning of a similar container, the alignment region and target regions cooperatively inter-fit.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/0108666 discloses a wheeled refuse container having an axle and a pair of wheels connected to the axle. A slot is disposed along each side of the bottom portion of the wheeled container for receiving the axle. The slot has an inboard end in which the wheels are positioned for nesting of the wheeled container in another container and an outboard end in which the wheels are positioned for use.
One of the problems associated with such systems is the wheel or caster assemblies tend to be rather large and bulky which limits container nesting depth. Further, such systems are relatively complicated and difficult to fabricate, resulting in high costs to consumers.
Such prior art systems have not met all of the needs of manufacturers to provide a product that can be easily manufactured, packaged and shipped, or the needs of consumers requiring economical and versatile storage containers.
Paramount among such needs is a container which includes integrally incorporated rollers to permit transport of filled containers by an average homeowner without tipping or separation from a dolly. Structure is a further consideration, the container and its cooperating lid and roller assemblies must resist separation, buckling and racking in such a way as to unify the entire container.
Also, from a versatility standpoint, a cooperating lid should be present which permits secure stacking of containers, and which provides security and dependable access to the contents of the containers without the complex and difficult to assemble devices associated with the prior art.
There are also commercial considerations that must be satisfied by any viable container system; considerations which are not entirely satisfied by state of the art products. The container must be formed of relatively few component parts that are inexpensive to manufacture by conventional techniques. A plurality of the containers and/or lids should also be capable of being packaged and shipped in a nested state.
In addition, the container system must assemble together in such a way so as not to detract from the internal storage volume of the resulting container or otherwise negatively affect the utility of the container.